Wallace Darnell Johnson (born December 25, 1956) is an American former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

player and coach. He was a first baseman with the

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos (french: link=no, Les Expos de Montréal) were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal, Quebec. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in t ...

and

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Y ...

and

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...

third base coach and is also known for his skill as a pinch hitter. Johnson was a switch hitter and threw right-handed.

Amateur career

Johnson graduated from

Indiana State University Indiana State University (ISU) is a public university in Terre Haute, Indiana. It was founded in 1865 and offers over 100 undergraduate majors and more than 75 graduate and professional programs. Indiana State is classified among "D/PU: Doctor ...

with a B.S degree in Accounting. He was named to the CoSida Academic All-American team, NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship and received the McMillan Memorial Award for leadership. He was a Co-Captain of Indiana State's first

Missouri Valley Conference The Missouri Valley Conference (also called MVC or simply "The Valley") is the third-oldest collegiate athletic conference in the United States. The conference's members are primarily located in the midwest. History The MVC was established ...

baseball championship and first appearance in NCAA regional post season play. He led the nation in hitting (.502) during the regular season and was named the MVC tournament MVP. He was named to the Missouri Valley Conference All-Centennial Team and enshrined in the Indiana State University Hall of Fame in 1985.

Professional career

Wallace was drafted by the Montreal Expos in the sixth round of the 1979 amateur draft and one of the first Indiana ballplayers selected. He began his professional career in the New York-Penn League that summer; by the next season (1980) he was leading the Florida State League in batting (.334) and stolen bases (58) He was named the MVP of the FSL Southern Division and received the Topps chewing gum George M Trautman Award for Minor League Player of the Year for the FSL. He played on the 1981

Denver Bears Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the United ...

(AAA) and 1986 Indianapolis Indians (AAA) championship teams. He made his major league debut for the Expos in September 1981 and on October 3, Johnson delivered a pinch-hit triple (scoring 2 runs) off of

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

ace reliever

Neil Allen Neil Patrick Allen (born January 24, 1958) is an American baseball former pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB). Playing career New York Mets The New York Mets drafted Allen out of Bishop Ward High School in Kansas City, Kansas, in the elevent ...

that help propel the team to its first ever NL East title. Johnson's was an acclaimed pinch-hitter. He was the Expos' all-time pinch-hit leader with 86. He played winter ball for the champion Leones de Escogido under the direction of manager

Felipe Alou Felipe Rojas Alou (born May 12, 1935) is a former Major League Baseball outfielder, first baseman, and manager. He managed the Montreal Expos (1992–2001) and the San Francisco Giants (2003–2006). The first Dominican to play regularly in the ...

and was named player of the week for the period November 30 thru December 6. He spent part of with the Giants, having been traded to them on May 25 in exchange for outfielder

Mike Vail Michael Lewis Vail (born November 10, 1951) is a former Major League Baseball outfielder. St. Louis Cardinals farm system Vail was original drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the seventeenth round of the 1970 Major League Baseball draft as a ...

. The next spring, the Giants released him, and he returned to the Expos as a free agent shortly thereafter. On May 2, 1988, Johnson broke up the

perfect game Perfect game may refer to: Sports * Perfect game (baseball), a complete-game win by a pitcher allowing no baserunners * Perfect game (bowling), a 300 game, 12 consecutive strikes in the same game * Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League, New York ...

bid of Ron Robinson of the Cincinnati Reds; Johnson got a single with two outs and two strikes in the 9th inning. Johnson led the major leagues in pinch-hits during the period 1986-1990. In February 1990, Johnson won his arbitration case against the Expos and was the only winner of players that filed arbitration cases that year. On August 11, 1990, he was released by the Montreal Expos again and signed with the Oakland Athletics, but he did not appear in any games for the A's. He played his final major league game on August 3, 1990. Johnson was a teammates of five Hall of Famers during his Expos tenure, that included Gary Carter,

Andre Dawson Andre Nolan Dawson (born July 10, 1954), nicknamed "The Hawk" and "Awesome Dawson", is an American former professional baseball player and inductee into the Baseball Hall of Fame. During a 21-year baseball career, he played for four different te ...

Tim Raines Timothy Raines Sr. (born September 16, 1959), nicknamed "Rock",Raines received this nickname at an Expo rookie camp when he was seventeen, based on his physique. is an American professional baseball coach and former player. He played as a left ...

Randy Johnson Randall David Johnson (born September 10, 1963), nicknamed "The Big Unit", is an American photographer and former professional baseball pitcher who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (1988–2009) for six teams, primarily the Seattle M ...

and

Larry Walker Larry Kenneth Robert Walker (born December 1, 1966) is a Canadian former professional baseball right fielder. During his 17-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career, he played with the Montreal Expos, Colorado Rockies, and St. Louis Cardinals. I ...

Coaching career

He spent one season as the hitting instructor for the 1994 Gulf Coast League Expos, three years (-) coaching in the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The Braves were founded in Bos ...

minor league system and five years as the third base coach with the

. He was part of the 2000 AL Division championship that led the league in runs scored and offense. The team lost in the playoffs to the

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The team joined the American League as an expansion team ...

. Former major leaguer and TV analyst Hawk Harrelson gave him the nickname "Wavin Wally". His coaching career included instructing two Hall of Famers, Frank "Big Hurt" Thomas and

Vladimir Guerrero Vladimir Alvino Guerrero Sr. (born February 9, 1975), nicknamed "Vlad the Impaler", is a Dominican former professional baseball player who spent 16 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a right fielder and designated hitter. He played for ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Wallace 1956 births Living people African-American baseball coaches African-American baseball players American expatriate baseball players in Canada Baseball coaches from Indiana Baseball players from Gary, Indiana Chicago White Sox coaches Denver Bears players Indiana State Sycamores baseball players Indianapolis Indians players Jamestown Expos players Major League Baseball first basemen Major League Baseball third base coaches Memphis Chicks players Montreal Expos players Phoenix Giants players San Francisco Giants players Sportspeople from Gary, Indiana Tacoma Tigers players West Palm Beach Expos players Wichita Aeros players 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American sportspeople